Stevenson Motorsports 2010 Chevrolet Camaro - Glory Days Return

Memories of Roger Penske’s Trans-Am Camaros Roared to Life Again in ’10

When auto enthusiasts equate muscle cars with road racing, sooner or later the discussion always goes back to the golden age of the Trans-Am series. These were the glory days of American road racing and the ’67-69 Z/28s were born out of Chevy’s desire to dominate the ponycar category. The ripples from that time period are still being felt today.

Larger wheels, wider rubber, bigger brakes, beefier sway bars, air dams, rear spoilers and even seats with high bolsters all found their way not only onto later production cars, not just those with performance pedigrees, but also onto four-door family sedans as well. Horsepower ratings increased also, but the emphasis from the factory led to the development of well-rounded cars and not just drag machines. Chevrolet carried that trend over into the development of the new Gen V Camaro--and then in a brilliant marketing move brought even more attention to the new car by fielding near-stock production Camaros in ’10 with a familiar look from the halcyon era of Trans-Am.

Handling all the nuts and bolts behind this factory-Camaro road-racing team last year was Stevenson Motorsports. Based out of the Jacksonville, North Carolina, area, Stevenson Motorsports is a Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series GT team that has been competing in Grand-Am Road Racing for several years with a variety of cars, including a Corvette and a Pontiac GXP-R. With strong connections to General Motors and a successful racing pedigree, Chevrolet saw them as the best choice to campaign the new Camaro bodystyle in the Rolex Series, along with two other Camaros in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

Of particular interest for Chevy were the two Grand Sport class entries to be run in Continental Tire. With stock suspension mounting points, no internal engine mods and OE-style brakes, these cars were the closest thing on the track to a stock production car and an excellent test bed for future performance parts. Drawing from the Trans-Am tradition of the past, Bow Tie fans were particularly excited when an updated Penske/Sunoco livery was chosen to adorn the cars throughout the racing season. Jeff Bucknum and David Donohue, sons of the original Penske drivers Ronnie Bucknum and Mark Donohue, were co-drivers when the Camaro made its competition debut at the last race of the 2009 season.

"The cars have to be as close to stock as possible, meaning that they come straight from the showroom floor for the most part," said Mike Johnson, team manager for Stevenson Motorsports. "We have aftermarket brakes, performance exhaust systems, and safety equipment, but the biggest changes involve the suspension with shocks, springs, and sway bars. We also replace a lot of the rubber bushings to stiffen everything up, but everything has to be in the stock location. Other than that, everything else is basically bone stock."

MORE PHOTOS

While the stock Camaro SS comes with 20-inch rims, Stevenson Motorsports ran its cars in 2010 with 18-inch Forgeline EV1R forged race wheels shod with Continental 275/35R18 radial spec tires with a 10.2-inch tread width. While minimal brake modifications are allowed, Brembo calipers with stock- size brake rotors were used with great effectiveness.

Hugh Plumb, Al Carter, and Craig Stone all split time behind the wheel of the number 9 Grand Sport Camaro and finished in the Top 20 team points despite missing part of the season. Plumb and Stone drove the car to a fourth place finish at Watkins Glen and also had three top 10 finishes.

The livery from Roger Penske’s championship-winning ’69 Trans-Am Camaro has been widely recognized and adapted onto a number of SEMA concept cars for years. Chevrolet and Stevenson Motorsports brought that image back to life during the Grand-Am Continental Tire race series in 2010.

A quick look underhood reveals an amazingly stock engine. The GS class rules limit these cars to a 430hp LS3 with no internal mods other than replacement connecting rod bolts and a two-stage dry sump oiling system. Grand-Am also requires a 3,200-pound minimum weight and the use of an air inlet restrictor in order to even the on-track competition with smaller displacement cars.

Stevenson Motorsports also campaigned this GT class racer (above) in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. It finished fifth in ’10 championship points with Ronnie Bremer, Robin Liddell, and Jan Magnussen behind the wheel. The GT cars are allowed many more modifications than the slower Continental Tire Series GS cars.

Chevrolet debuted the present day Camaro SS during a Grand Am race at Virginia International Raceway in October 2009. After running as high as Seventh, the car retired early with clutch problems. While they didn’t win, it was a victory in many ways as the team got to test in the heat of battle to help prepare for the next season.

Despite a season of new car blues, Stevenson Motorsports finished Eighth in Grand Sport team championship points during 2010 with Jeff Bucknum and Matt Bell behind the wheel. The team scored podium finishes twice during the 10-event race series.

Check out Todd Nelson's 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS! This car has a clean and sleek personality, from the beautiful black-as-night exterior paint to the flawless high quality leather interior. » Read More

Most people look past the small 4.8L engine and go straight for the bigger ones. In this Little LS Slugfest, we compare both stock and modified versions of the 4.8L and 5.3L engines, now you be the judge! » Read More